Hello all. I have ordered my new Mahindra 3550 HST. I have been reading here about Mahindra Tractors, looks like happy owners and some unhappy owners.
I am wondering if any of you would suggest a checklist, or something else, for me to go through with my dealer. I know some of the problems I have read about are making me a little concerned. But I plan on still purchasing and want to try to check on things at the dealership when all the pieces have arrived there. I have asked the owner to call me when all pieces are in and I would come over to see and inspect them all before they put things together. He said no problem. These folks have a good service reputation, and I have purchased other things here as well from Simplicity, Stihl and Husqvarna.
So here is what should be coming in over the next week or two.
3550 HST Tractor (Open Station)
3550L Loader
75B Backhoe
72" Double Piston Grapple
72" Medium Duty Rotary Cutter
Third Function Valve/controller ordered with the new tractor. (Are the newest ones installed at factory or dealership?)
Any suggestions and checklist items would be great. I appreciate it.
1. Make sure it has the restrictor installed in the EGR cooler bleed line so that it warms up properly. Should get to about the 2nd dot on the temp gauge.
2. There is new firmware for the ECU that eliminates the problem of going into limp mode from "fuel pressure relief valve" opening. Ensure it has the updated firmware.
3. The foot pedal for steering wheel tilt should have a stop welded to it, to prevent bending the piston from accidentally pushing too hard on the pedal. Mine has a stop now, it's on its 3rd piston. Maybe something that the dealer is willing to do for you, or something you can do yourself once you get it home.
4. The fuel tank will collapse itself due to a a vacuum if the cap is installed tightly. I don't have a great solution for this right now - besides leaving the cap a little loose. I slightly modified my tank to prevent this, but it weeps diesel fuel when it's full due to sloshing. I intend to install a tank vent hose with a fuel filter up under the hood, with enough hose that sloshing won't be an issue.
Mods:
1. Depending on what you're mowing, a skid plate underneath is a nice thing to have. I made one for mine, it attaches to tabs I welded on the backhoe/loader arms. I bent a few things before I had the plate, luckily nothing expensive.
2. A sun shade is a nice addition for protection from the sun and weather, and provides a nice place for mounting lights. The factory lighting is pretty terrible. I have lights on the side of the loader arms, as well as a light bar forward/backward on the sun shade.
3. I have a wr long valve on mine, I think it was about $1k installed. It's an electric/hydraulic setup, with a switch mounted in the loader joystick. It's pretty nice to operate.
4. Not sure if you were considering getting the tires loaded - Mine are not loaded, and I use the loader pretty heavily. I put a 2000 lb concrete block on the back for counterweight, which works pretty well. The backhoe can sometimes be a bit light if you're really pushing the loader, especially on hills. I often will extend the backhoe and swing it to one side to help provide stability, but the block is better. I like not having loaded tires when mowing and hauling on the trailer.
5. You will want to turn up the relief valve for the individual circuit for the boom on the backhoe. I have mine set to about 4000 psi. If you do not do this, the boom will drop when using the crowd or bucket functions, when trying to dig stumps or rocks, or when lifting. The main relief valve for all hydraulics into the backhoe was set from the factory at about 2800, I turned it up just slightly to 3000, to match the relief valve for the aux hydraulic valve. You will not be able to overpressurize the hydraulic system by adjusting the individual boom circuit - since the main pressure relief on the backhoe will protect the pump. All it does is lock the boom in place a bit better when using other functions. The lines are rated to 5k psi, I figured 4k was a decent set point - and I've been much happier with the performance after this adjustment.
6. I personally think a quick hitch is essential, and a hydraulic top link makes it that much better. The one from harbor freight is ok, though it requires a little bit of modification to get it onto the 3550 3 point hitch lower arms. Might not be important to you if you're not swapping 3 point hitch stuff a lot, but I move between implements pretty frequently.
If you have any questions on the machine, let me know.
One of these days I intend to start a thread with mods I've done to mine - and include pictures.
